


Diverge

by solaarii



Series: deconstructing a monster [3]
Category: Yandere Simulator (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate - Character Names, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Childhood Memories, Gen, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 11:31:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15684567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solaarii/pseuds/solaarii
Summary: No matter what, it's inevitable to stray.





	Diverge

The future was always blank to me. It looked a white sheet, laying flat against the surface of my desk, and a pencil uselessly beside it. There were traces of graphite smudges or the annoying presence of eraser shavings. Instead, there was a few sentences of instructions and three empty boxes that bore into my core.    
  
The future felt so far away from me - in a different space that mocked my  existence. Midori was sprawled over my desk, lips puckered as she whined about how thinking about the future gave her a headache. Despite that, her sheet was filled with her aspirations on the career form and her top three high school choices. As much as Midori could be a pain, she made decisions a little easier with saying that the three of us should attend the same high school. There was a slight buzz in my head that nagged going to any of these schools sounded like a mistake.    
  
It whispered incessantly, obsessively yelling at me that I shouldn't go below my potential; that any of these names weren't going to enlighten anything new; that these were wrong; that I was becoming insane. Midori snapped me out of these looping thoughts with an irritable sigh. "I wanna play video games but dad keeps telling me to study..."   
  
Kuu flipped another page in her book and shrugged. I glanced at the cover and it was a jumble of English words I never bothered to care for at the time. It was probably some trashy romance, a genre she was 'secretly' into but hid it behind a fancy paper cover. Midori and I knew, of course, and often teased her about it. Midori more so, as for me, I couldn't care less.    
  
Kuu once lent me a copy of a book she adored once before about some cliched fantasy romance novel between a kidnapped princess and a knightly prince. I tried to wrap my head around this 'harrowing' epic but failed. It only took me a night to finish, and I reread it the next day, hoping it'd ring some bells in my head. The narration urged me to cheer their fledgling romance, but everything about this blooming relationship felt dull and forced. Why do you have to be together with someone who saved you out of their own volition? Sure, you owed them something but why should it be yourself? Why give yourself away to someone who claimed to be "noble" and "heroic" and all this flowery nonsense the author threw in for good measure?   
  
Mom found out I was reading books like these and laughably plucked one of them from my hands. She said, "Oh these authors don't understand true love at all! If the princess really loves her prince, then she'd get rid of all of his obstacles for him." It was a constant criticism to everything concerning romance. It didn't take long for me to learn how to tune her out.   
  
Dad was fine about it - he was a little thrilled to know that I read stuff mom didn't approve of. And, I guess, it made me a little bit pleased to know that this act had some benefit to me. I decided to pick up a romance novel every once in a while after that. It didn't enthrall me like it did Kuu, but it gave us some stuff to talk about when Midori wasn't around to fill in the silence.    
  
"You get good grades even without studying," Kuu pointed out as Midori mourned over her impending loss of free time. She turned to the next page, eyes never leaving the book. "If you put in more effort, you'd probably be in the top twenty."   
  
Despite how annoying and carefree Midori was, she was actually really smart. Kuu excelled in literature, placing third in our year, but Midori could give her a run got her money. If, just as Kuu stated, she just paid more attention and actually reviewed her notes then she'd be at the top of the class. After spending most of my childhood with her, it was safe to say that what Midori lacked was a goal to get her fired up.   
  
I spent many sleepovers at her house, watching her speedrun through dungeons and puzzles so that she could beat games the first night she gets them. And then enjoy the story. Kuu and I would talk about that sort of prodigal ability and wonder why someone like Midori had it. Kuu amused the idea of aliens, but I rolled my eyes and pretended to find it hilarious.    
  
"I agree with Kuucchi," I piped up. If I continued keeping quiet, they'd think I was strange and then it'd be brought up to their parents, and then their parents would tell my parents, and my dad would  think I was a freak. "You could get a recommendation to any school you want instead of the ones nearby."   
  
Midori whined. "But I don't wanna study!" she cried out and threw her hands up. "Dad wants me to go to Akademi High School...but that seems too tough. I wanna play games when I move up! Not study my butt off all day!"    
  
"If you just review your notes when you get home, then..." Midori cut me off with more of her cries and I rolled my eyes. I really didn't care which school I went to, so long as I didn't need to do more than the bare minimum.    
  
However, when she mentioned Akademi, a chill went down my spine. That was weird. Why did I feel scared? Unless that feeling wasn't fear and something else. In the books Kuu lent me, I guess it could be described as a literary plot device; a premonition.    
  
"Akademi is a high tier school," Kuu remarked. "My parents wanted me to apply there too."   
  
I cocked my head. What did this mean?   
  
"Eh? That's because Kuucchi is super smart!"   
  
"That's because I study." Then with her scarlet, piercing eyes, Kuu catered a speculative look towards me. "How about you, Yan-chan? You're really good with arithmetic and science; you should apply for Akademi too."   
  
Midori suddenly sprung to life. She was on her feet, palms pressed on her desk, and a grin so big and bright that I was going to go blind. "If Yan-chan and Kuucchi are going to Akademi, then I will too!"   
  
Wait. Wait this was going too fast. The voice in my brain was rambling and nagging, insisting that I must go with the others. Akademi scared me. I'm not sure why, but I knew I didn't want to go there if I could help it.    
  
"I don't think I'm Saikou Corp material..." I excused. Sure, as hard as I try with keeping myself average in terms of grades, it's the little things that these two seem to notice. They'd always ask me for help with assignments that have them stumped, or in whatever games and puzzles they brought over. I'm not sure how they picked up on such things, but try as I might with making stupid mistakes, it never deterred their belief.    
  
Midori fell back on her seat and rummaged through her desk. In no time, she whipped out a mechanical pencil and white eraser. I watched in horror with the incessant whispers increasing with every nanosecond as Midori wiped out her top high school choice and replaced it with Akademi High. Kuu hummed a pleasant tune as she did the same.    
  
They turned towards me with eager smiles and expectant eyes. My insides crumbled and I felt like some invisible force latched itself to my neck, bringing me down with its gravity. The whispers hissed into my ears, drilling its taunts into my brain:    
  
You need to do this or else they'll think you're a freak. A monster. Just like how your dad sees you.   
  
With a roll of my eyes and a frigid surrender, I mimicked their actions and watched as my future got snatched away. Midori squealed happily and told us that we need to go to the shrine and buy charms. Kuu seemed a little too happy about that and offered to walk with Midori to the faculty office. I said I'll sit out on the trip and watch our things.   
  
With a wave and a few childish giggles, the pair left and I felt more alone than ever. I dusted off the eraser shavings from my desk and visualized the sheet. I shouldn't have done that. I really should've stayed away from these two. Everything was going fine. But now, it felt like all of the careful planning and methods that got me this far was going to collapse in a horribly tragedy.   
  
What would dad say if you lost your only friends, Ayano? Maybe he won't say anything. Maybe he'll just look at you with the same worn out, sickly gaze he gives mom. He won't say he hates you aloud but he'll think it with every fiber of his lifeless, hollow husk of a being.    
  
Just. Like. Mom.   
  
I got up, needing to splash water on my face before I shut down. I left quickly, rushing to the bathroom, and nearly ran into a man in a million yen looking suit.    
  
He was tall with silvery hair slicked back, showing a glare so sharp that it could leave a scar on its target. He stared down at me with a mix of disdain and recognition, and all I did was reciprocate. This man before me brimmed with an unmatched brilliance that could part the seas. He wore white gloves, almost as though the world was too filthy for his bare hands to touch.   
  
The image the man presented reminded me of these cliche dramas where a rich man came in to complete the love triangle. He'd swoop in, stepping out of his black sleek limo, and bring out a bouquet of roses to the heroine. He'd make promises of a secure and bright future and display better prospects of stable livelihood when compared to the lower class pretty boy not boyfriend love rival.    
  
"Aishi?" he murmured, and I returned to attention, feeling dizzy. This man was too bright to look at that it was too disorienting. In the back of my mind I made a mental note to tell Midori that 'bishounen sparkles' were real. He illuminated them like it was his job.    
  
"Yes?" I finally answered, my eyes narrowed. Not out of suspicion, but because of the surreal corona emitting from him. No one could be this bright just by wearing a fancy suit.    
  
Though, the shine faded when those glaring eyes softened into bewilderment. "You're an Aishi." Why? Why do you sound so sad? Why? Why is there pity in your eyes? Why?   
  
Why. Why. Why. Why?!   
  
"Saikou-sama!"    
  
He turned towards the source of the voice - oh, it was the gym teacher who advises the soccer team. I heard he wears a headband to hide his bald spot. - and then looked back to me. From his breast pocket, he produced a business card; it was white, clean, and sharp.    
  
Then he handed it to me, waiting for me to take it. He held it out like it was precious, begging the question why he was gifting it to a middle school student like me. I had no special background to speak of, or know about. The only extraordinary thing about my family is my mom's bizarre knowledge of cleaning products and cutlery. Dad was an ordinary businessman too, but he also had a knack of getting things on sale.    
  
"Please, if you ever need help, call this number," he told me with a voice so steady that it felt practiced. Oh, he must've done this hundreds of times. Not really thinking about it I took the card and stared at the fancy font:   
  
**[SAIKOU SEIJI. CEO OF SAIKOU CORP. ~ "We build the best for a better future." ~ CONTACT ###-###-#### or saikou.corp@aimail.com]**   
  
Saikou. They made Akademi High School and nearly every graduate there becomes a Saikou Corp employee. Their strings are attached as soon as they get accepted and are jump started into accelerated courses and rigorous expectations. And with each potential worker entering their sphere of influence, there's no reason to worry about the future.   
  
And it finally dawned on me: mom went to this school and stole dad's future.    
  
"Saikou-sama," the gym teacher finally arrived. The smell and sight of sweat approached our senses first. "The principal was asking where you went; I've been running around the school looking for you."   
  
"I see," Saikou-san responded, indifferent to gym teacher's plight. "Time passed while I was inspecting the classes. I apologize for my unannounced disappearance." He bowed his head, low and far more respectful than what a sweltering, lowly paid teacher deserved.    
  
Gym teacher caught onto this and started waving his arms and bowed even deeper as though it'd save both of their dignities. "N-No...! That's quite alright! I shouldn't have interrupted your conversation with..." he trailed and acknowledged my presence in this tightly wound conversation. "Aishi? Aren't you supposed to be in class by now?"   
  
"That is my fault," Saikou-san intervened again, a gloved hand held up to call us to his attention. Then he gestured it towards me, expectations weighing on my shoulders. I lowered my gaze, allowing gravity to take its hold on me. "I was talking to Aishi-san as she looked troubled."   
  
"Is that so? Well, Aishi is an incredibly gifted student! She's one of my star athletes in class, you know? Her stamina is something else either be it track or weights, she's got them handled!" Gym teacher couldn't stop bragging with a hand rubbing the back of his head and a prideful expression of a civil servant licking the shoe of his boss. My skills in P.E. was average at best as doing anything more than that would make me stand out. Gym teacher was exaggerating everything, possibly disoriented in the glaring light of Saikou-san. I just happen to be one of the few girls to not complain about exercising, that's all.    
  
"Is that right, Aishi-san?" I picked my head up, taking note of the slight tremble in Saikou-san's voice. Our gazes met once again, but this time I didn't waver. It was too late. Saikou-san read everything about me and knew I was living behind a lie, a papier mache mask. "You look like a student with a lot of potential by your eyes alone. I hope you'll do me the pleasure of applying to Akademi High School. Now, I'll go return to the principal; he must be getting worried."   
  
Again, the gym teacher spluttered out reassurances that Saikou-san could take his time. Before they left, Saikou-san gifted me one last curse,   
  
"By the way, Aishi-san, make sure you keep that card with you for the near future."   
  
His parting words left me feeling hollow. The eyes of a powerful family were on me and I couldn't lie my way out of their sight. Saikou Corp controlled a good chunk of Japan, and their main headquarters just happens to be in Buraza Town. A town that was rumored to be built for the sake of the former Saikou chairman's child. I couldn't escape not with how I am now.   
  
As I stared, dumbfounded, voices filled my brain. They cheered with cacophonous howls and hoarse whispers. Perfect, perfect! The lurking monster in the confines of my mental prison had a playground to stomp around in. It was going home to familiar territory.    
  
"Ne, Yan-chan! Whatcha doing out in the hall?" Midori seemed to have a knack for disturbing my unwanted thoughts. Maybe befriending her wasn't such a terrible thing after all. My mind went quiet and I swiftly pocketed the business card. If these two were to find out about my encounter with Saikou-san, there would be a riot.    
  
Midori was notorious for spreading news faster than the media. If someone in the first year got confessed to at 8am, the gossip would reach the third year classes by 8:02am. No one was safe from her prying ears and need to know what's going on.    
  
"I was wondering what took you guys so long." I didn't want to think about the future anymore. I didn't want to think at all. "Did you get distracted by a butterfly, Miichan?"   
  
"Eh!? Is that what you think of me?!"   
  
I wish I could turn back the clock and stare at the white void of my future aspirations. I wish I could rewrite the next step towards the terrifying unknown. I wish these voices would quiet themselves down and look for a different vessel to ruin.    
  
But no, instead of a white page waiting for my written consent to direct my incoming life, it was a small, rectangular card. I could feel the phantom sharpness of its edges on my fingertips and its contents burned its image into my retinas.    
  
_ ["We build the best for a better future."] _   
  
Who cares about a better future when it gets taken away like this?

**Author's Note:**

> yo! 
> 
> i decided to name papa saikou 'seiji' and maybe he'll become a support for ayano in the future? maybe not? i wonder what he's doing there...


End file.
